2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree School for You
Visual & Performing Arts is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 22,397 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 10th out of all the majors we track in the state.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 106 schools in California to see which ones were the most popular bachelor's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Visual & Performing Arts program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California
The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Colleges.
Top 15% Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found California State University - Long Beach to be the most popular school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in California. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a very large student population.
Women make up 62% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Francisco State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.
Women make up 53% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.
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Out of the 106 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the # 3 spot on the list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
About 54% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 46% are male.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fullerton. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 63% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Los Angeles Film School. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. LA Film School is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the city of Hollywood.
About 32% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 68% are male.
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University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. UC Santa Cruz is a large public school located in the small city of Santa Cruz.
About 51% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 49% are male.
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California State University - Northridge ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. CSUN is a very large public school located in the large city of Northridge.
Of the 471 students majoring in visual and performing arts at CSUN, 44% are male and 56% are female.
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University of California - Irvine came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.
About 71% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 29% are male.
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San Jose State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.
Of the 465 students majoring in visual and performing arts at San Jose State, 42% are male and 58% are female.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at San Jose State University Report
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With a ranking of #10, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 421 students majoring in visual and performing arts at UC Davis, 25% are male and 75% are female.
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University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a very large student population.
Of the 383 students majoring in visual and performing arts at UCLA, 36% are male and 64% are female.
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University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 374 students majoring in visual and performing arts at UCSB, 37% are male and 63% are female.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of California - Santa Barbara Report
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San Diego State University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. SDSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Diego.
Women make up 64% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at San Diego State University Report
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Art Center College of Design came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Art Center College of Design is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena.
Of the 316 students majoring in visual and performing arts at Art Center College of Design, 34% are male and 66% are female.
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University of California - Riverside did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public school with a very large student population.
About 59% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 41% are male.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Chapman University | Orange, CA |
| 17 | California State University - Chico | Chico, CA |
| 18 | California State University - Sacramento | Sacramento, CA |
| 19 | Academy of Art University | San Francisco, CA |
| 20 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 21 | Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles, CA |
Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 1,718 |
| Oregon | 1,672 |
| Hawaii | 196 |
| Nevada | 554 |
| Alaska | 60 |
Majors Related to Visual & Performing Arts
Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 37,413 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 36,301 |
| Music | 25,910 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 17,341 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 16,778 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 6,355 |
| Arts & Media Management | 4,788 |
| Dance | 3,288 |
| Other Visual Art | 912 |
| Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry | 119 |
| Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art | 10 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities | 556,813 |
| English Language & Literature | 54,635 |
| Foreign Languages & Linguistics | 33,333 |
| Theology & Religious Vocations | 27,459 |
| Philosophy & Religious Studies | 19,993 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Bonnielou2013.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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